People using at least a basic drinking water source in South Korea
South Korea: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 51.72 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least a basic drinking water source in South Korea, 2002–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 51.72 million people for people using at least a basic drinking water source in 2024.
The figure is up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in South Korea peaked at 51.76 million people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 46.72 million people, in 2002.
South Korea ranks 24th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.37 million people | 46.72 million people | 48.05 million people | 8 |
| 2010s | 50.21 million people | 48.31 million people | 51.61 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.74 million people | 51.72 million people | 51.76 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More environment data for South Korea
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 668.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 12.91 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 21.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.3304 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.86 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1549 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 44.74 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.2523 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.2291 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 18.6 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in South Korea?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in South Korea was 51.72 million people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 51.76 million people in 2021.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.72 million people in 2002.
- How does South Korea rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- South Korea ranks 24th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People using at least a basic drinking water source. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using an improved drinking water source, which is either available on premises, or collection time is no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.